Gravity Rush art style inspired by Franco-Belgian comics

There are no backdrops in the Vita-exclusive Gravity Rush; the fully explorable environments were inspired by the richly detailed work of Bande Dessinee comic artists.

In a post on the US PS Blog, art director Yoshiaki Yamaguchi revealed that Gravity Rush’s sharply delineated architecture, layered environments and glowing sky were inspired by the team’s research into the Bande Dessinee style, which is widely considered to have originated in French and Belgian comics.

The busy, detailed cityscape of Gravity Rush certainly brings to mind some amazing comic scenes, something Yamaguchi took to heart.

“Another important factor is the concept of a ‘living background.’ This is the idea of bringing the game world itself to life so that users can actually ‘feel’ it,” he explained.

“Basically, players can interact with certain objects in the game and they can actually get into the scenery within the remote background. Environmental background is not a piece of a picture, but it actually exists within the game, and we can use that background with our gameplay.”

In any case, Gravity Rush is a gorgeous looking game, and will arrive on western Vitas in June. Hit the link above to check out some examples of the game’s style, and an early concept video.